The present invention concerns an elevator with a car operating panel to register elevator calls
In the new generations of inexpensive elevators for small buildings, there was introduced the concept of a car operating panel with a keypad exhibiting ten digits (0 to 9). This 10 digits-keypad system has reached the target of a unique factory produced car operating panel for all elevators, with evident cost and logistic advantages.
As an added feature, due to the presence of a 10 digits-keypad and several displays, the car panel could also be used as a maintenance tool.
Unfortunately, together with the advantages concerning the logistic and maintenance, derived by the fact that always the same car operating panel can be delivered, some important and advantageous features of the old customized car operating panels have been lost.
Unequivocal action of a button: a button identified by a certain number or letter had in the past only the function to place a call to the floor corresponding to said number. With a 10 digits-keypad solution this is no longer possible, since the button identified by the number 1, for example, is used in combination with other buttons to place elevator calls to the floors 12 or −1.
Multi-button input: the user interface of the elevator was a one-action machine-man interface. With a 10 digits-keypad solution the user interface of the elevator becomes a two-action machine-man interface, since, for example, to place a call to the floors 12 or −1, the user must push two buttons sequentially.
Optical acknowledgment: Because one button serves for different inputs, the optical acknowledgment of a pressed button and of a registered call would be equivocal.
Limits of the shaft: these are with a 10 digits-keypad solution no longer recognizable. The user cannot recognize if the uppermost floor of a building is the floor 6, 7, 10 or 12.
Nonexistent floors: the indication of all the 10 digits on the car operating panel disturbs the customers possessing elevators in buildings with only few floors, since they get confused by the presence of the highest digits (9, 8 . . . ), which do not correspond to any floor in the building.
It is necessary therefore to develop a standard car operating panel, which can be fully customized at the elevator installation itself and do not need special customizing operations in the factory. Said car operating panel can preferably be used without adding special components and exhibits also preferably a maintenance interface to change the elevator parameters.
An attempt to attain these goals is for example shown in German patent document DE 19539288 C2, in which a freely configurable and customizable car operating panel for elevator is disclosed, which exhibits freely programmable touch sensitive buttons and a maintenance mode for elevator service.
Such a car operating panel exhibits, however, the disadvantages of being expensive, not user-friendly, complex to be configured, and not esthetically attractive. Furthermore, this apparatus exhibits a difficult fabrication and assembly and cannot be produced using well-established components. The advantages for logistic are therefore lost.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a car operating panel for an elevator installation which is freely configurable, inexpensive, user-friendly, assembled using well-established standard components and esthetically attractive for the users.